U.S. v. Nixon (1974) Name:

Reading

A Presidential-Size Scandal

No president wants to serve only one term. But President Richard Nixon was

especially determined to win re-election in 1972—so determined that his

campaign launched spy operations against the Democratic presidential

candidate, Nixon’s opponent. At 2:30 a.m. one night in 1972, five men were

caught planting a wiretap inside the Democratic National Committee office at

the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

President Nixon denied knowing anything about the break-in. Later,

however, it came out that secretly recorded conversations from the White

House would prove that Nixon was involved in covering up the Watergate

break-in. Amid the massive scandal, several men were charged with serious

crimes. Nixon himself was identified as a co-conspirator, but he was not

charged. A court ordered the White House tapes to be turned over as

evidence for the trial against the men. Nixon refused to hand over the tapes.

The Argument

Nixon argued that because he was the president, his recordings

were confidential, or private. First, Nixon argued that a

president’s communications with his advisors must be kept private

in order for them to properly do their jobs. Second, Nixon argued

that the executive branch of government is independent from the

judicial branch. Therefore, even though the court had a right to

force regular people to turn over evidence in a criminal case, the

court could not demand his presidential recordings.

So What?

This case shows that in the United States, the president is not

above the law. This is different from some countries, where the

leader has absolute authority. But in the U.S., the requirements of

the Constitution can come before even the president’s wishes.

The Decision

The Supreme Court disagreed. In some cases, the Court said, a

president’s communications must be kept private. That’s because

some presidential communications include sensitive information such

as military secrets. Making this kind of communication public could

put the nation’s safety at risk. But Nixon did not claim that his

recordings contained any sensitive information.

The Court explained that the American criminal justice system cannot

work if the court does not have all the evidence available. Given this,

the Court weighed Nixon’s desire to keep every recording private

against the justice system’s need to conduct fair trials. The Court

reasoned that it is rare for a president’s communications to be

needed as evidence. Therefore, a president won’t feel uncomfortable

talking with his advisors just because of this possibility. On the other

hand, the basic function of the criminal justice system could be

seriously hurt if a president’s communications could never be used.

Richard Nixon was president from 1969—1974.

President Nixon resigned in 1974.

Name:

Activity

A. Watergate Timeline. Learn more about the Watergate scandal by writing the letter of each event

where it should go on the timeline. Some are already filled in to help you get started.

B. Privileged Communication. In its decision, the Court was careful to point out that the president is

not just like everyone else. Could a president do the job effectively if every word was made public? Follow

the directions below to think about this.

Checklist B

Check everything we hope a president will do

when making an important decision:

Checklist A

Check everything a president probably wants to

AVOID when speaking in public:

Now circle one worry you marked in Checklist A and one behavior you marked in Checklist B. Explain how

the worry from Checklist A would make the behavior in Checklist B difficult for the president:

_____________________________________________________________ ,

______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________.

U.S. v. Nixon (1974)

Activity

A. Watergate Timeline. Learn more about the Watergate scandal by writing the letter of each event

where it should go on the timeline. Some are already filled in to help you get started.

Checklist B

Check everything we hope a president will do

when making an important decision:

Checklist A

Check everything a president probably wants to

AVOID when speaking in public:

Now circle one worry you marked in Checklist A and one behavior you marked in Checklist B. Explain how

the worry from Checklist A would make the behavior in Checklist B difficult for the president:

_____________________________________________________________ ,

______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________.

U.S. v. Nixon (1974) ** TEACHER’S GUIDE **

G D B E

[a correctly checked item from Checklist A]

[a correctly checked item from Checklist B]

[Answers will vary, but students should explain how the first thing would make the second

thing difficult. For example, if the president was worried about angering voters, it might be difficult to

think about an unpopular decision because people might vote for someone else.]

B. Privileged Communication. In its decision, the Court was careful to point out that the president is

not just like everyone else. Could a president do the job effectively if every word was made public? Follow

the directions below to think about this.